Duna's collection (Ikea cabinet and more) "updated feb"

[Duna]

And this is the day!

I just received my holy grail, the Invicta blue whale as a suprise birthday present from a friend. I was expecting another figure so I was completely shocked when I opened the parcel!

It's wonderful, I like it a lot. Here it's in comparison with the normal hard plastic version.




And now the collection is complete! I have two unpainted complete sets and now, a set of unpainted versions:




And my opinion on them is that I like them more than the unpainted ones, but I really like the hard plastic versions and the colors they chose for them. My least favourite is the stegosaurus, I think they chose very bright colours for it.
The most impressive are the sauropods, of course, and my favourite is the brachiosaurus, but the diplodocus paint scheme looks very suitable. The Cetiosaurus is conservative, while the Mamenchisaurus is cool in its light blue and black striping.




My favourite of the medium sized dinos is the Muttaburrasaurus and the Triceratops. In fact, the Triceratops was the first Invicta painted figure I got. I love how they highlighted the beautiful sculpt of that figure with those colours. The tiger look of the tyrannosaurus is nice, the iguanodon is quite bland, and the baryonyx looks cool (the fish is painted, too!) and the megalosaurus has trouble standing, it tips over. I've read it's a common problem with the painted version of that figure. While the hard plastic one stands perfectly, the painted rubber version is totally out of balance. And it's not a warping problem (I've tried repositioning its legs), I think its front part it's too heavy.
These figures are the most easy to find, excep the Muttaburrasaurus. I was very lucky to find one in perfect condition and not very expensive.




I love these all equally. If I had to choose the best painted figure it would probably be the Scelidosaurus. It's incredible how well painted is that tiny figure. It has a white belly, dark grey top and individually painted black large scales. It's supposed to be of the rare figures, but I've seen three on sale this last year.
The little golf ball - the Glyptodon- is another painted masterpiece, the shades of brown, the striping and the individually painted nails make the sculpt pop.
The woolly mammooth is probably the best looking -realistic- paint of all the collection. It's amazing how the only use of two colours make the fur look so real. This is a figure in which the unpainted version does not show how nice its sculpted. While the figure is made of the same flexible material as all of them, the tusk are made of hard plastic -the same as the unpainted version.
And now the Pteranodon, probably the most difficult to get. I've seen none on sale since I started collecting Invicta. It looks lovely with its black head and yellow lower jaw. I was very lucky to find it in my own country, as rare as Invicta figures are here, I was surprised to find it here. And in perfect condition. Being made of that soft rubber, means that its wings fall flat on the surface, unlike the hard plastic version that has its tips pointed upwards and not touching the floor.




The sea creatures are probable the best sculpted in the collection and stand very well to actual standards and accuracy (not quite the plesiosaur). I like most the unpainted dark blue version of the Plesiosaurus, but it's a pleasant change to see a sea creature in brownish colors. They have painted the small teeth so they are visible.
The Liopleurodon doesn't have the best colours but the sculpt is gorgeous. I prefer the light greenish unpainted version of this one. Looks more elegant. It's the most common to find of the four and not very expensive. In fact it can be cheaper than the hard plastic version which is surprisingly rare while talking about Invicta painted dinos, normally it's the other way round.
I have talked previously about the Ichthyosaurus, which was one of the last figures for completing the collection. It's rare but not as rare as the blue whale or the pteranodon.




I am so happy today! I thought I would never complete the collection. So if that's your goal, never give up. Or if you just want to get some of the figures, they would make an impressive display as Battats or Carnegies of that time.
We must thank Safari which introduced their soft PVC painted figures and created a new desired market in dinosaur toys, so the classy (and not toys, as they stated) Invicta had to give it a try and follow them with the release of the painted versions. But probably they were much more expensive and less appealing for children (and they were not sold in toy shops as the Safari) so they didn't get much success.
Nevertheless, I really think they also marked a point in dinosaur collecting history and they deserve their true place.

[TooOldForDinosaurs]

Wow. Absolutely fantastic! I am very happy for you for finishing this wonderful collection. I had a great pleasure looking at the pictures and I must say that all those colors together make a stunning display. And oh my - in what great of a condition all your painted versions are - that is not something you'd see very often. My congratulations to you and thanks for sharing! 


And I almost forgot to wish you a late happy birthday as well!

[ceratopsian]

Congratulations on completing the set!  They look so beautiful together.  A very elegant group.  You have a friend to treasure there!

[Libraraptor]

That. Is. Gorgeous.

[Concavenator]

Happy birthday! @Duna Congrats for your new Invictas! It's surprising to see you were able to create a collection of them this late, patience certainly pays off.

I like the Ichthyosaurus in particular, I find it interesting how much it resembles modern figures of ichthyosaurs, such as Carnegie's and Safari's versions, and the PNSO Eurhinosaurus. It holds up well. Also the colours could even be accurate because Dr. Admin told me there was an unpublished paper that said marine reptiles were countershaded (darker on top) (plus there's an already released paper saying they were dark).

[Shonisaurus]

My congratulations on all your new acquisitions, those Invictas with the paint version are great, it is very difficult to complete vintage collections like you do with Invicta or Starlux, your trajectory as a collector is admirable, on the other hand, the Invicta repaints are a version that is up to date. same level of awesomeness as the gold leaf covered Invicta figurines that I don't know if you know exists although this version of Invicta figurines is much harder to find and much more rare and expensive.

[BrontoScorpio]

I just received my holy grail, the Invicta blue whale as a suprise birthday present from a friend.

It's even more amazing you got it with the distinctive display stand ...

And now the collection is complete! I have two unpainted complete sets and now, a set of unpainted versions:

How on earth were you able to get all those in such a perfect dondition ? ... That is rare indeed.

[Duna]

It's even more amazing you got it with the distinctive display stand ...

It would be more amazing, you are right ... but it has a trick ... it's not the original stand, I just made it myself. I made a mold from a white plastic stand and then I used clear resin to make a copy. As it was my first time with molds, resins and all the stuff, it wasn't perfect and I stirred too hard and there are small air bubbles, but I'm very happy. I'll try again until I finish the resin.

How on earth were you able to get all those in such a perfect dondition ? ... That is rare indeed.

Yeah, it's rare ... but the diplodocus and the apatosaurus weren't in such a perfect condition, both had the paint of the tail damaged, and the apatosaurus head, so I restored them very carefully so the colours matched. The rest I was lucky to find in perfect condition, probably from adult collectors of that time that didn't play with them. Most of them don't have even a tiny scratch. I got 4 from France, 4 from Spain, the ichthyo and plesiosaurus in USA, the rest in UK. The whale, the ichthyo and the plesiosaurus do have some small scratches, though.

[Halichoeres]

Painted Invicta full set is most impressive!

[Duna]

More stuff ...

Some new, like the Eofauna diplodocus and the Safari baryonyx.The diplodocus is as good as I thought it was going to be (if only it was a little bigger) but is as long "as a day without bread" as we say here. The "long boi" goes just on and on and on ....



The Safari Baryonyx was a pleasant surprise because it's much much better in hand than in pictures. Its paint app is quite complex and it works very well. It's a very good figure, I highly recommend it. The problem is that new super hard material that they have started to use. I don't know if they are trying to avoid warping, but it looks the other way round: mine has the lower jaw very twisted to the side in a funny way. And barely stands on two nails of the left foot as it's very warped. Moreover, I really think that you could stab fatally someone with its tail. It's super hard, the material reminds me of the hard Inpros from the 80s.

[Duna]

Some old ...

I had the Spanish version of the Walking with Dinosaurs book by Tim Haines, made for the documentary, but I decided to purchase also the English one. The content is the same, but the covers are quite different. The English is matte and the Spanish one is very glossy. And the undercover, in the Spanish version by Planeta is a plain dark "leathery" blue cover like in most encyclopaedias of the time, but the English has the same drawing printed on the hard cover. Quite interesting.




The other thing I've finally got is the Walking with Dinosaurs table game by The Green Board. And I'm super happy with it. It's incredibly entertaining to play with children (and a excuse for adults to enjoy). There are two options to play (one with only movements for children under 7 and other with questions). But my 5 year old girls are such dino fans that know all the answers (even if they haven't watched the documentary but we have read the book) so we play the questions mode and I read aloud them and translate to Spanish.
The game is very easy, it's a race to evolve from the Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous while changing the picture of your character (12 in total, 4 for each 3 periods). If you are lucky you can take shortcuts and if you fall in a question you have to answer it correctly in order to move forward. There are also "Action" cards that if all your play mates agree you have done it well, you can move, those include funny activities like "flying like a pterosaur over the sea", "pretend you are a diplodocus hatchling from the forest soil" ... and lots more.
But the best thing are the hundred cards with wonderful scenes of the documentary. 
I know there is at least a version of the game in French, but it wasn't done in Spanish.




And some Schleich figures in bad paint condition I've purchased and decided to give them a little repaint. I don't collect Schleich but there are some old figures that are incredibly good and quite accurate sculpts (but not as nice paint schemes) and I highly recommend them: psittacosaurus, dinogorgon, dimorphodon, dracorex amd kentrosaurus.

I repainted (I'm learning and trying) this Komodo dragon to look like a Megalania inspired in this figure.




And this Dinogorgon just needed a bit more paint, because I love that design. It's missing one fang, I think that gives it a bit of character.

[Concavenator]

Nice acquisitions!

Is the Safari Baryonyx made of a harder material than their Deinonychus? I have heard a lot of people talk about how hard that new material is... I don't have any of the 2021 Safaris yet, but for what it's worth, I have their 2020 Deinonychus and I was surprised by how stiff it was, much more so than their 2017 Velociraptor.

That Bary has been on my wishlist from the very first minute it was revealed but I've held off geting it because I'm anticipating stability issues...

[Duna]

Is the Safari Baryonyx made of a harder material than their Deinonychus? I have heard a lot of people talk about how hard that new material is... I don't have any of the 2021 Safaris yet, but for what it's worth, I have their 2020 Deinonychus and I was surprised by how stiff it was, much more so than their 2017 Velociraptor.

The Baryonyx is even harder than the Deinonychus because in the Deinonychus you can still flex a claw but that's impossible in the Baryonyx, they are as hard as bone. The tip of the tail can flex a bit, but as I've said you can go through an apple as if it was an arrow.

That Bary has been on my wishlist from the very first minute it was revealed but I've held off geting it because I'm anticipating stability issues...

It's a very good figure and doesn't look like a toy at all, very horizontal pose and doesn't drag the tail. I highly recommend it and it looks very stable (because of low center of gravity) if you are lucky to get one whose feet plant firmly on the ground.

[ceratopsian]

I missed that WWD game previously.  The cards look excellent!

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

Lovely painted Invicta collection, they really are something. Nice repainting too, the Dinogorgon looks better with that.

[Halichoeres]

Glad to see the Eofauna Diplodocus is proving popular!

The WWD merch is really cool, I don't think I ever really knew the breadth of the marketing push for it. It's hard to imagine an equivalent for a documentary style series now.

[Duna]

Thank you @Halichoeres Just imagine we could get that nowadays about ... Prehistoric Planet? Cards, games, books and ... figures!! 


By the way, I got this super nice figure thanks to a friend. It's a Kleinwelka iguanodon ... I've dreamt for a long time for having at least a Kleiwelka since I saw a brachiosaurus ...
What I like most is the touch of the plastic, it's super light, kind of foamy, the details are a bit less than in Invictas but no doubt it's a very nice figure. A classic retro depiction of that times ...



Here you can see it in comparison to other classic iguanodons, the standing ones probably inspired in Zdenek Burian's work.



Invicta, Marx and Starlux.

[CarnotaurusKing]

Some nice figures here! The herd of Invictas is really nice. The Kleinwelka Iguanodon too, and quite large as well. I remember really wanting that Walking with Dinosaurs book when I was younger.

[Halichoeres]

Hmm, I'm getting an error message in place of the image.

[Duna]

Hmm, I'm getting an error message in place of the image.

I see it ok, can you check it again, please? Sometimes the host does these things ramdomly with the last pictures uploaded and displays them with this blue error, but they can be ok minutes later ...